SCREAMING. Hungry baby. All dress up and ready for church. But first, she needed some milk! I fed her and we still made it to church on time. 
RESTING with grandma. A satisfied baby with a full belly! 
SMILING. Giving Aunt C. a BIG grin!
SLEEPING. Snuggling with Granny!!!
She made this eagle pinata all by herself! She had a school assignment to create something that symbolizes America. She filled the pinata with candy and her 3rd grade class got to take a swing at it. Our daughter was happy that her swing broke the pinata. Dad helped her make the beak, but she did everything else.
Back up the hill! 
Landing upside-down in a ditch.
Sledding is the best thing to do on a snow day. School was cancelled Thursday & Friday. We got 3 inches of sleet followed by 1-2 inches of snow. That makes for super slick sledding! The hardest part is walking back up the slippery hill.
Father & son both did a lot of research online to get tips on building the fastest car! 
The racetrack at districts. 
A buddy & our boy with their medals & trophies. His buddy got 2nd place overall, our boy received 3rd place overall, both receiving medals.
At districts, he received the 1st place trophy in the Webelos division.
The speedy car!
Cheering on his racecar. Our boy placed third in the pack pinewood derby. Ten boys competed. The top 3 went to districts to compete.
{Above: An old photo that makes me laugh.} Life changes with a baby. I have a newfound gratitude for some simple things, like typing with 2 hands. (A little faster than the one finger pecking the keys while baby sleeps cradled in left arm.)
Hot showers! Better than Christmas morning ~almost better than chocolate! Last night my husband held the baby while I took a long, hot shower after the big kids were in bed. The real treat was not having to peek out from behind the shower curtain to make sure the bouncy seat was still playing music. Usually a shower is interrupted by a child (insert any 1 of 4 names) barging in to use potty, tattle on sibling, or tell me Sponge bob is over or a commercial is on (Tip: nick jr has too many commercials, PBS is the only way to go - 27 minutes of entertainment~ no commercials until end). This child (offender) ALWAYS comes in when the bathroom is nice & steamy & finally warm and I am in the process of shaving my legs. Door flies open, cool hallway breezes rush in, room gets cold, goose bumps on legs. Now the debate ~ wait until bathroom warms up again, or keep shaving right over those goose bumps and brace myself for the red bumpy rash. So, when I get the opportunity to shower without interruption it is pure relaxation bliss!!! And yes, better than chocolate (except Ghirardelli).
Life is getting even better because today I was able to grocery shop by myself! My mom lives 4 blocks from a Wal-Mart so I nursed the baby, left her with my mom (BEST babysitter/Granny ever!!!!) ran to the store, returned with everything on my list (except the applesauce, shhhh don't tell my 4 yr. old. But I did bring home the ham and bananas which were his top 2 requests. He made me write a list of those 2 items and he has walked around the past 3 days saying H-A-M, ham buy ham and bananas, he spelled both words.) AND I returned to a happy baby and a happy 4 year old.
In November, our family had to talk in church on the topic of gratitude. I mentioned that after 4 winters in Northern North Dakota, I developed an appreciation for winter in my current state. As a child I hated winter here, but after ND, my perspective changed. I may have to eat my "grateful" words after this winter of 2 ice storms and another on the way tomorrow. I'm praying that the electricity stays on this time, after my 2-shopping cart, freezer restocking binge. I guess, now I'll be kissing the ground when spring comes. OK, I really am happy, so please disregard all the sarcasm. To recap, GOOD: 1) Two-hand typing 2) uninterrupted showers 3) Shopping alone 4)husband 5) Granny 6) Chocolate. Happy days! P.S. I never know where to put commas, so I put them everywhere. I hope this makes sense.
Baby girl (3 weeks old) at home and feeling much better. 
Our baby girl (2 weeks old) was on oxygen in the hospital when she had RSV and viral pnemonia. She was in the hospital for four nights, she came home for 2 days, then came down with a fever and a high white blood cell count 26,000 (normal count is under 15). She went back to the hospital for 2 more nights to be observed. Luckily, the fever went away before she had to endure anymore envasive tests. They were considering doing a spinal tap to test for meningitis. I am so relived that she got better on her own. We plan to keep her at home from now on. She is in semi-isolation, no visitors and she doesn't leave the house. We can't risk anymore illnesses. It is hard enough the keep her brothers & sisters from bringing home viruses from school.
Our 8 year old LOVES to hold her baby sister as often and as long as she can.
Thanks to yet another ice storm, the kids have been home from school for 3 days. It has been too icy for the buses to run their routes. What do you do on a snow day??? Dress up the dog, of course. Apparently, the dog wears the same size clothes as our youngest boy.
Desperately in need of chocolate after a long day of kid wrangling!!!
Buddies!
The Cupcakes
Friends & Cousins
10 years old. Blowing out the candles.
Muddy Buddies
The Arkansas razorback pinata, made by dad.
Smashing the razorback!!!
